The World Within Our Reach
by slapsroofoffanfiction
Summary: In the near future, Humanity has lost most of its terrestrial territory due to global warming. As if in response to this, a fleet of unmanned battleships known as the 'Fog' has driven humanity out of the water. In this world, civilisation and prosperity have taken a big step back. A small group of people, however, are bent on bringing change. They are known as 'The Blue Fleet.'
1. Chapter 1

a/n: This is a new story that I have been rolling around in my mind for a while. I don't know how often I will update it after this, or if I will at all. It all depends on whether or not you like it. This is based on the Manga version of _Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio, _which is really a completely different universe to the anime. If you are here for the Konosuba portion of the story and have not read _Aoki Hagane, _I highly recommend it, as it is a masterpiece.

**Chapter 1 - The Future is (not) Bright**

"Can you stand?"

The voice belonged to a young man of about 17, though his black suit and tie radiated an air of maturity and utter confidence, which felt as if it shouldn't have been possible for someone of his age. His voice was soft but firm, and it dared anybody to challenge him.

"You have reached a dead-end 'Route Holder,'."

A second voice caused him to look up, and he let the woman in his arms down as his opposition continued.

"Or should I call you 'Battleship Killer?'."

They were standing on a large expanse of smooth concrete, which was surrounded on 3 sides by deep water. It was a harbour. The night was cloudless, which enabled the moon to cast an eerie glow on both men's faces.

Despite similarities in their confidence, the difference between the two would be instantly apparent to any onlooker. The first man had his back to the angry ocean, while the other was backed by a small army. 50 men, all armed with lethal automatic weapons were taking aim.

"This entire area is locked down. Not even someone like you can escape if you jump into the ocean. We need that girl… for persuasion purposes, so we can't let you take her. Surely a genius such as you can see your only way out."

The girl in question was shaking with fear.

The second person grinned evilly. "How about it? Would you like to join us? We could use someone with your experience and intelligence in our ranks…"

Gunzou didn't say a word, but simply responded with a pleasant smile.

The grin on the second man's face vanished and transformed into a snarl.

"It's too bad…" He prepared to give the order to his men. "Battleship Killer."

With no warning but a silent swell in the water behind Gunzou, a silvery blade flew out of the ocean next to the pier. At the height of its leap, it slowed, and began falling. The people opposing Gunzou dropped their weapons and fled in terror at the sight that greeted them. The giant object made impact, and split the concrete pier in two, while sending large chunks of discarded material in all directions. Where there was once a solid concrete block, water was rushing in with vengeance around the object.

If someone were to take a birds-eye picture of this scene, they would see a 150-metre long war submarine, with its forward half cutting through an obliterated harbour platform.

A single torpedo ejected from one of its forward tubes and flew far enough before detonating to scatter the remaining enemies.

And then there was silence.

Once the dust had settled, another girl leapt off the deck of the submarine. It was some 10 metres up, and should have been an impossible jump, but she made it easily, landing softly on some intact concrete in front of Gunzou.

She appeared very young - 16 at most, but she carried herself with an importance that bordered on arrogance. Her waist-long hair was straight and white, and her fringe almost covered her eyes.

When she landed, she looked Gunzou right in the eyes.

"We looked all over for you," she said professionally, though her tone betrayed annoyance.

Gunzou smiled warmly. "Sorry, it's a long story," he said, "I'll tell you about it later."

"I can't wait." The girl responded sarcastically to Gunzou's apology.

"Let's go. We've still got another job to do." He said.

"Yeah. The girl responded.

…

Off the coast of the space centre in Kashima city, a terrifying war machine cut its way through the grey water.

A barrage of more than twenty missiles thundered towards it, and the cruiser did not attempt to intercept. They detonated, and the resulting explosion would have been deafening to anybody nearby, and the mere shockwave enough to crumble buildings.

Despite this, the cruiser left the smoke cloud, completely unharmed.

One hundred metres below the surface, someone exclaimed their distress in the bridge of an Attack Submarine.

"A cruiser of the Fleet of Fog…" Kashihara Kyouhei sighed.

"All right." The captain spoke. "Let's go over the details of this job again. First mate, please explain."

"Of course, captain Chihaya." Oribe Sou said. "Our goal is the protection of an SSTO (a/n: single-stage to orbit craft) used for international communication. Right now, our client is fighting that light cruiser, which is bent on its destruction. Our job is to stop its advance, and sink it if possible."

"Iona, show the data," Gunzou said.

The white-haired girl from before began speaking.

"Our target's displacement is over 6000 tonnes, and it is equipped with wave-force armour. Its armaments include six 123mm graviton cannons on three active turrets, 12 torpedo tubes and many missile launchers. Its top speed is 60 knots. It cannot submerge. That is the Fog Cruiser _Nagara._"

The bridge was silent for a few seconds. It was broken by Kyouhei.

"This won't be easy… what are your orders Captain?"

Chihaya Gunzou sat down in his chair at the back of the room, thinking. A couple of minutes passed before he said anything.

"_Nagara_ hasn't noticed us yet…" He finally said. "High tide will soon come to these waters, which will switch the current in our favour. We will switch to silent running, and take _Nagara _by surprise."

Suddenly, another young woman, by the name of Hozumi Shizuka, yelped from the left lateral of the room.

"_Nagara _is turning her bearing to 212. She might have noticed us!"

Kyohei laughed. "You were saying, Captain?"

"Plan B it is then," Gunzou sighed, "All hands to your battle stations."

Kyouhei jumped into his seat, which was down a small set of stairs, to the right of Gunzou, and Shizuka signalled that she was ready from the left side.

Gunzou wasted no time. "Insert normal torpedoes into tubes 1 through 4. Active decoys in tubes 5 and 6!"

A 'Roger' from Kyouhei confirmed that the order was complete.

"Sonar, status." The Captain Demanded.

Shizuka, with her headphones on, responded.

"_Nagara _is gaining speed! It is coming right at us."

From the sky, _Nagara_ seemed to be moving far too fast for its size. It fired its own barrage, the missile tubes on the deck opening, and ejecting several oblong cylinders into the water.

The sonar operator of the I-401 attack submarine picked up on this instantly.

"Something hit the water! I heard 12 of them!"

Gunzou did not seem anything but calm, especially considering their situation.

"Fire tubes 5 and 6." He said, "Then insert a corrosive torpedo into 5."

From the front of the I-401 flew 2 torpedoes through the water. After a few seconds, they detonated, but rather than explosions, two perfect replicas of the 401 appeared through a cloud of dust. They were there for a few seconds before they were obliterated by the torpedoes that _Nagara _had fired earlier.

"Sonar Reception falling," Shizuka said. "Enemy torpedoes confirmed intercepted… wait! One contact is making its way towards us! Distance 250!"

"It's too late!" Gunzou yelled. "All hands brace for imminent impact!"

A tremor shook the I-401, more powerful than an earthquake, and the crew would have been thrown across the room had they not been tied down automatically to their seats.

Iona was the only one who remained unfazed. "Klein field down by 20%." She reported, utterly calm, unlike Shizuka, who reported, almost panicking:

"12 more contacts incoming! This time there are Thanatonium readings; at least one of them is corrosive!"

Even Gunzou tensed at this report.

"Aim tubes one through 4 at the new barrage. Fire them in a salvo, with half a second between each one. Don't let the Corrosive torpedo through! Wait 10 seconds, then fire tube 5 at _Nagara_." Gunzou ordered, his calm complexion wavering.

On the surface, a plume of water, hundreds of metres high, was visible at the point where 16 high explosives detonated at once.

"All enemy contacts intercepted," Shizuka reported, relieved.

"Don't let your guard down!" Gunzou insisted. "Tube 5! The corrosive torpedo! Fire!"

A single shot came from the front of the I-401.

_Nagara,_ one second, was cruising smoothly, and the next, it was listing horrifically to one side. Where the Corrosive Torpedo made an impact, a perfect sphere of purple light expanded, reaching 20 metres in diameter. At the epitome of its growth, it de-stabilized, and fizzled down in a spectacular display of purple lightning, leaving a perfect sphere gouged out of _Nagara_'s hull.

5 kilometres away, on land, Kamikage Ryuujirou watched the resulting explosion through a pair of binoculars. "Great…" He muttered to himself. "The one who betrayed the fog… excellent performance."

Behind him, a small rocket launched. An SSTO. It sailed far into the sky, until it could no longer be seen, finalizing 401's mission.

…

In the early 21st century, due to a sudden rise in sea levels, humanity lost most of its terrestrial territory. Then, seemingly in response to these events, the previously unidentified 'Fleet of Fog' appeared.

Humanity was driven out of the seas by these mysterious battleships, which boasted overwhelming firepower, and nigh-unbreakable shields. Even humanity's most potent weapons, such as Hydrogen Bombs, proved to be unable to deal any significant damage.

Every continent and island was cut off from one another, and as a result, civilisation and prosperity took a big step back.

It had been 17 years since the final defeat of humanity at the hands of the fleet of fog.

But things were about to change.

…

"No, I don't know how we got here! Why don't you tell me!?" A voice in black space called out arrogantly.

"As I have already told you, I also have no idea, Kazuma. Can you please get away from me? Your presence is alarming."

"Hah? How can you even see me?"

"I can't, but I can sense your lewd thoughts."

"What kind of lewd thoughts are you having Kazuma!? Please elaborate!" This voice was a new one, and it seemed excited.

"Please don't… didn't I tell you to remove yourself from my immediate presence Kazuma? You are creeping me out."

"That's not me!"

"Ah yes, your voice is a little further away than it was before. These lewd thoughts must belong to Lalatina-sama. I apologise for my misunderstanding."

And then silence.

"Hey, don't you think Aqua has been silent for too long?"

"Yes."

"I agree."

"..."

"Haha! YOU GOT ME!" A third voice showed itself.

"How did you get up there?" The boy asked.

"What do you mean!? I am a goddess?"

And suddenly there was light.

And what was visible in the light? It was a flat expanse of what seemed to be clouds that went on as far as the eye could see.

"Seriously Aqua, that looks like fun. How did you get up there?" A girl with black hair and red eyes said.

"I told you already! I'm a goddess! It seems you can finally tell them the truth Kazuma!"

The boy, seemingly named Kazuma, looked into the sky, bored.

"What truth?"

"What do you mean 'what truth!?' You know the truth! I sent you to that world in the first place!"

This time, it was the red-eyed girl who responded.

"Well, send us back, please. I haven't used explosion today yet."

Aqua, a blue-haired girl, descended, close to tears.

The Quartet continued to argue and was only interrupted a few minutes later by a giggle.

"You four are so funny to watch."

"Eris-sama!"

The girl in yellow armour threw herself to her knees in respect, pulling Aqua down with her.

"Yo, Eris," Kazuma said.

Darkness, the girl in yellow armour, attacked him, but stopped in surprise when 'Eris' replied with:

"Hello there, Assistant-kun."

Two of the other three stared in surprise at Kazuma as he initiated a conversation with her.

"Say, do you know what happened to us? Why are we here?"

Eris smiled. "Of course. It-"

"-And why was I not told!?" Aqua interrupted.

"We couldn't contact you, because your godly form temporarily vanished when you descended to Belzerg," Eris responded, unfazed.

She turned to Kazuma.

"There is another world in danger, and the higher-ups have selected your party to help them out. What do you say?"

Kazuma took a deep breath and smiled. He looked lovingly to the red-eyed girl, Megumin, at his side, who smiled back. He looked to each of his party members in turn, still smiling. They all slowly nodded at him, and he shrugged his shoulders knowingly.

"Hell no." He said.

"Thank you for your help," Eris said. "I will now teleport you to- wait for what?"

Kazuma began to act violently. Had there been something to throw, he would have thrown it.

"There is no way in Hell that I am risking my life as a beginner in another world! I just started to enjoy my life in Belzerg! And, what of Belzerg!? What is going to happen to that world Hah?"

"Ah, well, the higher-ups decided that your party was best suited, as you are the strongest reincarnated that is doing almost nothing to defeat the devil king at the present time…"

Kazuma calmed down.

"Actually, that seems about right. So what's in it for us?"

Eris sighed. "You will be able to have one wish you succeed. Any wish. And this time, your goal is not to break the world out of their situation but to do what you can to help. You and your party will be the only ones incarnated."

"And we aren't dead?" Kazuma pressed.

"You are not."

"What will happen if we die in that world?"

"You and your party will be able to decide whether to reincarnate into Japan or Belzerg, at your choice."

"Any catches?"

"Err. If you choose to reincarnate into Belzerg, your level will be reset to zero."

"Let's go Kazuma!" Megumin interrupted excitedly.

"Why are you so eager?"

"I want to blow up new monsters! Also, if my level is reset to Zero when we return, I will gain skill points far faster than I would normally, which means I can increase my explosive destruction faster!"

Eris sighed again. "That would be correct. Your levels will be reset to zero upon reincarnating back to Belzerg, but your skills would remain."

Everyone fell into silence again, which Eris broke.

"There is no need to think so hard about it. You don't have a choice; it has already been decided."

"!"

Eris waved her hand. "Sorry, but I have to send you on your way, or my superiors will get mad. Bye!"

Golden light enveloped Kazuma, Darkness, Aqua (who was yelling hysterically), and Megumin.

Their surroundings went black once again.

"Hey, Kazuma, get away from me."

"Shut up, never mind that. Doesn't it seem pretty cold suddenly?"

"Yes, you are right."

"Ouch!"

Everyone ignored Aqua and the dull thunk of a person running into a metal wall.

"Wait a second, this is not magical darkness, it's just darkness." Kazuma's voice said. "Farsight."

The room lit up green in his vision after he used the 'Archer' class skill.

"Wait for a second, Aqua, you can see in complete darkness, how did you manage to walk into a wall?"

"Sh-shut up!" She respond, flustered.

"Oh, hey, I found a light switch," Kazuma said.

"Thank you, Kazuma." This was Darkness. "Nether Megumin nor I can see in this, as we do not have skills that enable us to."

"Yes, I got that Lalatina-sama."

"Please stop calling me that."

Around them was a room, in which everything seemed to be made of metal. There were boxes everywhere as if it were a storeroom, and the walls were slightly slanted outwards.

The room was thin for a storeroom, at only ten metres wide, but quite long; at least thirty five metres.

"Hah, what kind of fantasy world is this!?"

"Forgive me for pointing it out, Kazuma, but Eris-sama never said anything about fantasy." Darkness voiced.

"Oh, that is true, isn't it? Oh well. I was feeling a severe lack of Sci-fi recently, so this is actually good."

"Kazuma?" Megumin asked. "What is Sci-fi?"

Oh yes. This would be fun. Megumin came from a world in which she held the most powerful weapon. She would be in for a rough awakening if this universe was even semi-powerful.

Suddenly, the room's white lights went out, and they were replaced by blue. A young girls voice was easily audible above the rumbling that was occurring around us.

"I-401 Attack Submarine is now switching to combat mode. Please secure all un-grounded personal possessions, and move yourself to a safe location. Oxygen filters, High-power lights, and Life-Support systems are being disabled everywhere but the bridge and engine room in order to conserve power for the battle systems. All personnel, please move to a safe location. Repeat, please move to a safe location."

**End of Chapter 1**

Authors note: Well, I hope you enjoyed that. I do love this manga, and it deserves more love than it gets. By the way, I will continue uploading my other Crossover, so don't worry about that. I am going to write this Fanfiction part by part, when I have time, and upload when it when each chapter is ready, so it might be a while until the next one. This week I will not upload to my other Konosuba crossover; I will resume uploading that next week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - The Past does (not) Forgive**

"_Gunzou-kun." A girl said, but her only response was a grunt._

"_Please wake up." She said, shaking his half-dormant body._

"_Kotono. You aren't allowed in here…" Gunzou said finally, rubbing his eyes._

"_But I have something to tell you…"_

"_Even so, these are the boy's dorms, and considering the hour, there is no excuse-"_

"_Gunzou-kun." She said again._

"_Kotono," Gunzou sighed "You should leave before-"  
_

"_Please listen!" She yelled, and stirs and grunts of protest could be heard around the room._

"_What is it?" Gunzou conceded._

_Amaha Kotono let out a short breath._

"_Your father… Captain Chihaya Shozou has become our-" She resigned herself. "Has become the enemy of humanity."_

"_Wh-What are you saying?" Gunzou stuttered, now oblivious to his classmates waking around him,_

"_The fog Gunzou-kun. He has defected to the Fog!"_

…

_Chihaya Gunzou sat on a bench in his school grounds at sunset. Amaha Kotono approached him._

"_Are you all right?" She asked, sitting next to him._

"_I'm fine." He replied._

"_You don't need to be," Kotono said in response. "You can feel sad if you want to."_

"_Why would I feel sad?" Gunzou asked. "Foreboding, Confusion, even Hatred is what I should be feeling._

"_For your father?" Kotono asked, to which Gunzou nodded._

_They were silent for several minutes._

"_But I don't." He said._

"_What do you mean?" Kotono asked, confused._

"_My Father who turned to the fog… I feel as though he is a different person than my father that I knew."_

"_I'm not sure I understand…" She trailed off._

_There was silence for a few more minutes. During this time, the sunset turned into darkness, and lanterns by the side of the path lit, basking an orange-white glow over Gunzou and Kotono She rested her head on his shoulder, and her long brown hair fell over his arm._

"_I don't need to understand. I can't." She said._

"_Don't worry about it…" Gunzou told her._

"_Even though I don't always understand them, don't ever feel like you cant talk to me about your feelings."_

_Gunzou, despite the circumstances, chuckled._

"_All right then." He said._

"_I'm here for you." Kotono insisted, squeezing his hand._

"_Thank you."_

…

"_You're a hero son." A man in heat-proof clothing said._

"_Where is Kotono?" Gunzou asked._

"_She is too, and your friend Sou."_

"_Where is Kotono!?" He asked again, as if ignoring him._

"_You saved at least 10 people!" The firefighter pressed._

"_Tell me where Amaha Kotono is!" Gunzou insisted._

_The firefighter seemed to be grasping at straws, trying to delay the answer._

"_They all would have died without you-"  
_

"_WHERE IS KOTONO!?" Gunzou finally snapped, stepping forward and grabbing the Fireman by the collar._

_In response, the man simply took his hat off slowly, closing his eyes in sympathy._

_Those who were watching the drama followed suit, lowering their hands and removing their hats._

_Chihaya Gunzou let go of the man, and his arm fell limply to his side._

…

_He had been sitting there for hours despite the cold breeze that had fallen upon the port town of Yokosuka._

_Gunzou was sitting at the edge of a school dock, looking down at the ripples in the water below him. It was quite dark, and the moon was easily visible on the cloudless night._

_Slowly, the ripples turned into small wavelets, and gradually became even larger, to the point where they almost reached Gunzou's hanging feet._

_He looked up from the water for the first time._

_The bow of a large submarine towered over him, which caused him to stand up and back away in alarm._

_At the very front of the vessel was perhaps the most unusual thing._

_A shimmering substance, like silver sand, was congregating, as if a small tornado picked it up. It continued swirling for a few seconds, until suddenly, without warning, it solidified, gaining shape and colour._

_On very the prow of the ship now stood a young girl. She had white hair that fell down her naked body to her waist, the ends flowing with the wind. Despite this cool breeze, and her absence of clothes, she displayed a startling lack of discomfort as she stared at the bewildered bot below her with cold blue eyes. Finally, she spoke._

_Her voice was smooth and proper, like an upper class high-school girl. Every word was measured, and it was perfectly clear sound, ringing through the wind, void of any emotion._

"_Chihaya Gunzou."_

…

"Hey, Iona." Gunzou spoke to the white haired girl standing beside his deck chair.

"Hm?" She asked.

"Do you remember when we first met?"

They were on the port deck of the I-401, which was docked at a port after defeating Nagara.

"I do." Iona said.

"What kind of expression did I have? What did I look like?"

Iona wasted no time in responding.

"You looked Pitiful." She said. "You made a miserable face."

Gunzou smiled at his companion's brutal honesty, and looked at her.

"Back then," He said, "I wanted to break free from this blockaded world so much that I thought that I would start a revolution."

He sat up.

"When I met you," he continued, " I was ecstatic. 'Now I can do it,' I thought."

Iona turned her attention from the sea and looked at him questioningly.

"Could you start a revolution?" She asked

Gunzou thought for a moment, then shook his head, as if dismissing the thought.

"No, not at all." Gunzou said.

"You're right." Iona told him, glancing to the front of the vessel.

Gunzou followed her gaze and saw a man approaching.

"And you are?" Gunzou asked him, his guard immediately up,

The man responded to his less-than-warm admission unfazed.

"I am the client that requested that you sink that cruiser in the waters of kashima launch center."

There was silence.

"So? Why are you here?" Gunzou asked another question.

"I have another job for you."

The Man glanced at Iona, perhaps surprised at her calm demeanor.

"I want you to transport humanity's hope…" he continued, "Humanity's' last hope."

…

Hozomi Shizuka laid back in her chair in the bridge of the I-401. Her job was simple in theory, but beyond difficult in practice. As the sonar operator, she had the job as a 360-degree lookout of sorts. Windows, as you would use in a battlecruiser for instance, you had none of in a submarine; they would be unnecessary weak points, because visibility would only be there up to the first few metres outside the craft. So the was sonar. Similar to a dolphin's echolocation, it was fully possible to visualize the entire underwater terrain for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Normally, there would be a team of people manning it, but seeing as she was alone, the task was even more difficult.

She had Iona to back her up if she needed it, but Gunzou didn't like to burden her systems unnecessarily. Shizuka didn't blame him, because she knew how much he felt indebted to her.

Still, her job was tiring.

Her chair was reclined, and in front of her was a large monitor, not unlike an ECG, but there was no line, because it represented a 2 dimensional plane, rather than a single-digit variable. Suddenly a bleep sounded through Shizuka's headphones.

She looked up at her monitor, and, seeing an anomaly, turned a dial with her right hand, amplifying the volume.

Several dull thuds were audible, but on top of that, a murmur of voices. Taking a mental note of both, she turned her attention to the more interesting of the two. She tuned the headphones to listen within the hull of the vessel.

"...our priority is to leave, so please get up Darkness, its over, you can calm down now." A bored-sounding voice said.

"Kazuma, what caused all of that rumbling?" A girl this time.

She was ignored.

"Stop acting as if I am excited Kazuma! I am simply shaking in fear." This voice sounded more mature, but her voice contradicted what she was saying.

Shizuka's eyes widened at what she had discovered.

"Hey, are you hearing this Iona?" She asked as she opened her comn link.

"Of course. I will notify the captain. Considering the circumstances, it is likely that our call is no longer secure. Don't say anything important from now." Iona's voice patched through the sonar feed.

"Understood," She cut the link, and unplugged her headphones. "Kyouhei! Sou!"

The two other people in the room looked up.

"Listen to this!" She continued.

She patched the sonar feed through the bridge's main speakers.

"Oi! Tell me what caused that rumbling!"

"Are you ever going to stop interrupting me!? And you wouldn't understand even if I told you!"

"Just tell me!"

"All right then! Explosions!"

"So there are explosion users in this world too?!"

"No, you utter imbecile!"

They had started yelling, so Skizuka muted the feed. Turning to her crewmates she saw that they were both stunned.

Kyouhei was the first to recover. "Well, they don't seem to be much of a threat…" he trailed off.

"That is true…" Sou trailed off. "But they did get on board the 401 without Iona noticing right away... If nothing else, we should know how they did that, and why."

Shuzuka thought for a second.

"Well we should probably wait for Gunzou at a time like this." She said.

"Yes," Sou confirmed. "I would rather not make a decision like this. Let's wait for the captain."

"Well, I have no business arguing." Kouhei told them as he brought out his phone.

"There seem… to be some… amphibians," He said as he texted, "Crawling… around… Done!" He said as he sent the message.

On the deck of the craft, Chihaya Gunzou's phone pinged. He brought it out of his pocket and glanced at it.

Looking up at the person standing opposite him, Kamikage Ryuujirou, he smiled.

"Do you perhaps have any amphibious friends?" Gunzou asked.

Kamikage feigned ignorance for a second, then decided it wasn't worth it, and stopped.

"I happen to know one." He sighed. "I'll talk to him."

"Sorry for the trouble." He said as he left.

"Not at all." Gunzou replied.

"I would be grateful if you just came to Yokosuka. The cargo is there. Also, there is your Alma Mater which you rushed out of… it would be good to see your old classmates again, right? And…" He looked over his shoulder. "We can talk about captain Shouzou as well."

Gunzou's placid expression faltered for a brief moment.

"Oh yes, I forgot to say." Kamikage continued. "They built a memorial to those who died in the incident on the ruins of facility four." He sighed, and began walking away again.

"You should go to visit it at least once."

Kamikage Ruujirou walked back along the concrete pier to his escort, where a blond, bulky man was waiting.

"Is he coming?" He asked.

"I believe so, but more to the point, please withdraw your men from the 401. They are not needed, as I explicitly said before, Lieutenant Harder. You cannot take this ship by force with no forward planning."

"Sharp as always… assistant secretary Kamikage, though I disagree. The assasination of the crew would be easy." Harder Cruz said.

"It is beyond either of our authority to make that assumption. We don't know how _she_ will react if we were to kill any crew members. We have no idea of the combat capabilities of mental models, it would not be wise to risk anything." Kamikage told him sharply.

"Yeah, yeah…" Cruz glanced at the 401, and started as he noticed Iona watching them carefully.

When he began staring back, she didn't falter, and calmly continued observing him.

'The so-called mental-model of the I-401…" Cruz thought. 'About two years ago, those fog basterds didn't have these things…' He climbed into the Jeep.

'They've undergone changes too.'

…

"How did you get in and what is your objective?"

Chihaya Gunzou, along with Sou and Iona, were standing in the general storage vault, opposing four young people.

"Look man, you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." Satou Kazuma told him. "I just-"

"-Tell me."

Kazuma Sighed.

"All right then, but it's complicated. In short, none of us are from this world."

"You come from a sheltered colony?" Gunzou questioned.

"No. We have literally just come from a parallel dimension. One that you would call something along the lines of 'Medieval.'"

"Iona?"

Iona's eyes glowed for a moment.

"Judging from his pulse, respiration patterns, blood pressure and stress levels, I can conclude that he is telling the truth."

Gunzou looked a little surprised. "And the margin of error?"

It was Iona's turn to look surprised, but she reported it anyway.

"0.63%."

"I see." Gunzou said, thinking. "Do you mean us any harm or discomfort?"

"No." Kazuma replied.

"Another truth. Margin of error 0.052%."

"Thank you Iona," Gunzou said, then turned to Kazuma. "Forgetting about your reasons, what are your intentions?"

Kazuma looked confused for a second.

Behind him Megumin and Aqua were becoming impatient. Aqua opened her mouth to speak, but Kazuma, perhaps sensing impending doom, held up his hand to silence her.

"We want to help."

Gunzou chuckled. "With what exactly?"

"Anything that can help break the world out of it's painful situation." Kazuma responded confidently.

Gunzou continued smiling and turned to Iona.

"I am getting the idea that he is lying from looking at him. But he isn't, is he?"

"No." Iona told him.

He sighed. "You don't actually know what you are talking about, do you?"

Kazuma responded with only a look of surprise. "Well no, I guess not."

"Why would you tell him that!?" Aqua shouted from behind him.

"You shut up." He responded in finality.

Gunzou had had enough of the interrogation.

"Tell me the whole truth. " He said, "Or I will kick you all out now."

Kazuma tensed as he grasped the urgency of the situation.

"We are not from around here… you could say that we have been… er…" He panicked a little as he struggled to plan his next few words. "Banished. We will not be allowed to return home unless we help you."

Gunzou's coldish complexion cracked for a moment, but it returned quickly.

"Not my problem." He said.

"Please let us try."

Megumin spoke for the first time.

"Why should I do that?" Gunzou responded curtly, but his words betrayed his tone, which was a little softer than before, perhaps because this time he was addressed by a child.

"I would like to go home. I'm not sure how much I like this world." She told him.

Gunzou sighed and looked to Iona.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

"Looking from a purely tactical standpoint, it would be unwise to let any of them stay with us without any sort of interview."

"Interview?" Gunzou asked.

"Yes," Iona responded. "There is the matter of them getting along with other members of the crew, what skills they possess, emotional stability. The list could go on."

"I understand." Gunzou said. "Sou, do you have an opinion?"

"This boat was originally designed to sustain 170 men under water through an entire circumnavigation underwater. Our range has increased dramatically since the fog copied the design of the original 'Sen-toku' class submarine. Three more people will not make much impact to our stores. The crew will trust your judgment to the ends of the earth, so don't let that impact your decision." Sou reported a wealth of information quite quickly.

Gunzou seemed to have no trouble following however, and responded with a simple "I see."

He sighed. "I will not make this decision now." He told everybody in the room. "I have more pressing matters at hand. Follow me."

"Captain." Iona said curtly.

"Yes?"

"In a recent scan, I found an anomaly by the main hatch." She said.

"What kind of anomaly?"

"It is a type of mine designed to be remotely detonated. A database search reveals it to be from the 'Composition C' family of explosives."

"You have disabled them?"

"Of course."

"All right." Gunzou said. "There must have been some real aggressors hiding in these guys," He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Kazuma, "Echo. We'll ask Shizuka. Don't worry about it."

They all began walking to the brief room.

…

"Iona, you were recording it?"

"Yes."

The entire crew of the I-401, plus Kazuma and his party, were sitting around a table.

"Play it."

Iona's eyes glowed a little, and an image manifested itself on the far wall of the room. It presented a video of the deck of the I-401, where Gunzou and Iona herself stood, opposing somebody else.

"Kamikage Ryujirou." Iona said. "He is a vice-secretary in the Prime Minister's office, in charge of Military and Naval affairs. He has proposed a mission, which will be explained in this recording."

"I want you to transport humanity's hope…" Kamikage said. "Humanity's last hope."

On the recording, Gunzou looked at him questioningly.

"Let's just say it's a new weapon for now. I am not authorized to give you the details unless you accept the job." He continued.

"New weapon?" Gunzou asked.

"Until now, the only way to do damage to the fog was with the 'Corrosive Torpedoes,' and other such weapons in your possession. The only 'Mental Model' in humanity's control currently is that of this ship." He gestured to Iona. "The methods of creating these weapons is unknown to humans, so only mental models can do it."

"I know this already. Gert to the point." Chihaya Gunzou was getting impatient.

"The simple fact is that things have changed. This weapon can be used to fight the fog."

Gunzou sighed as if his hopes had been destroyed.

"In these past few years, I have heard those words many times. But every single time, my crew and I found them to be fakes."

"This is the real thing." Kamikage told him. "Testing has already been completed."

"Then just get to mass producing them."

"We can't." He pressed.

Gunzou gave him another questioning look.

"This country no longer has the resources, nor industrial power to do that." Kamikage explained. "In these 17 years in which we have been blockaded, we have barely been sustaining civilisation with the few resources we have been getting sent through SSTO's by out allies. You of all people should know that."

Gunzou was silent.

"That is why we want you to transport them to a country that can manufacture and deploy them. That country can then become the foothold of humanities' 'Great Resistance,'."

Gunzou showed the first true interest in the operation.

"So? Which country do you want us to travel to?" He asked.

"The United States of America."

Gunzou Chuckled.

"Are you telling us to cross the pacific?" He asked incredulously. "That is two full fleets of fog to sneak past."

"That is right." Ryoujuuro said. "We will support you as much as we can."

"Sending by SSTO didn't work then… There is no way you haven't tried that."

"We were just able to launch it because of you, but we received a report from the recipient saying that it was shot down over Hawaii. We have tried all of our other options already, but none were successful."

There was silence except from the quiet lapping of the ocean waves against 401's hull.

"We had prepared 5 sets of samples and documents, but we have only one left. We would like to entrust it to you."

"What will be our payment?"

Kamikage chuckled.

"I brought something that could be prepared in advance." He put two documents on the table.

"A certificate from the government that recognises your ownership of the I-401, and a certificate that grants you amnesty from all of the crimes that you have committed so far."

Gunzou actually laughed out loud this time.

"These things," He said "Are the most worthless things in the world to us. As a government official, you should know that very well."

Kamikage sighed. "Of course, we have no way of fighting the 401, which was originally from the fleet of fog. "But… I want to let you and your crew, walk around in Japan freely."

Gunzou smiled, then looked to the water.

"Do you perhaps have any amphibious friends?" He asked.

The recording cut out, and turned on again; a sime skip.

"You should go to Yokosuka. The sample is there." Kamigage said, before the video cut again.

Gunzou, sitting at the table, looking at his crew mates posed a question.

"What do you guys think?"

His crewmates seemed to be thinking hard.

Sou was the first to respond. "I'm in favour of going to Yokosuka. We would have a chance to restock on standard munitions. Everything that we have left are inferior black marked goods; the only place that will sell to us."

"I agree." A blonde-haired girl said, holding up her hand.

"Why is that, Iori?" Gunzou asked.

"I think that getting government recognition would be a good deal for us down the road. Even if we were to continue to sasebo, our original course, we can't get proper maintenance there. It's beyond human ability to analyze the engine systems of the 401, there are so many vague black-box-esque parts. On the way across thepacific, we can stop off at Iwo Jima, and get Hyuuga to fix up the engine properly."

"Kyouhei?" Gunzou asked.

"I don't mind either way, though it would be nice to stop off at our home port." He said. "What about you Shizuka?"

"I- w-well, this is my home. I will go wherever this ship goes."

Gunzou was thinking hard.

"There is a problem with going to yokosuka though…Iona?"

"Understood."

The screen at the end of the room lit up again, showing a blueprint for a battlecruiser.

"There is a 'Takao-class' radar picket heavy cruiser stationed in the waters around Nagoya." Gunzou said.

"We can't go up against a Heavy Cruiser… we don't even have half the firepower she has." Kyouhei sighed.

"We must avoid fighting her at all costs, especially seeing as we have only a few corrosive torpedoes left."

"Eight." Iona confirmed.

There was silence in the room.

"That however," Sou broke it. "Is where this comes in."Typhoon no. 11 is approaching right now. We can sail close to the surface in this, where the turbulence will hinder Takao's radar. We can then break through her hence shortened range."

Gunzou was still thinking hard.

"All right then." He said. "Let's try that. Iona, Anchors away. Set a course for Yokusuka, taking Takao and the approaching typhoon into consideration."

"Understood."

"And now there is the matter of our guests." Gunzou said.

The crew of the 401 all looked toward Kazuma, Megumin, Darkness and Aqua who were sitting awkwardly along one side of the table.

"I have decided that you may stay." Gunzou said. " Simply for the reason that you cannot be normal people, as you infiltrated the 401 without our knowing. If you really are in a situation where you cannot return home unless you help, then we can have you do manual labour at Iwo Jima if you prove useless during our journey there."

"Thank you very much." Kazuma said.

Gunzou smiled at them for the first time.

"Follow the corridor left to your quarters. Your names are already on the door. You will be expected to help with cooking and cleaning when it is your turn. You listen to my word at all times."

"I understand." Kazuma said.

"I have a question." Megumin said.

"Yes?"

"Who among all of you are the explosion user?"

There was a confused silence.

"I'll explain when we get to our rooms Megumin. Please be quiet until you have a grasp on the situation." Kazuma told her.

He turned his head back to Gunzou.

"Don't mind her. She is a little disturbed."


End file.
